Implementation Of Spiritual Care Research Articles

The Effect of Multidimensional Spiritual Psychotherapy on the Quality of Life of Bone Cancer Survivors with a History of Lower Extremity Amputation.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of multidimensional spiritual psychotherapy on anxiety, depression, and attitude towards self and god in bone cancer patients after amputation. Forty one cancer patients with a history of Below-The-Knee amputation were recruited in this quasi-experimental study. The design included pre-and post-tests in experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 15 sessions of multidimensional spiritual psychotherapy. Cattell Anxiety Inventory (CAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Religious Adherence Questionnaire (RAQ), and Self-concept-God concept questionnaire were administered for data collection. There was a significant difference between the control and experimental groups in terms of anxiety (P=0.0001), Depression (P=0.0001), God-image (P=0.035, F(1,38)=4.79), God-concept (P=0.006, F(1,38)=8.58), self-image (P=0.0001, F(1,38)=98.62), and self-concept (P=0.0001, F(1,38)=120.56), psychological evolution (P=0.0001, F(1,38)=19.36), and religious adherence (P=0.0001, F(1,38)=84.21). The results of the study indicated that the emphasis on spirituality and the implementation of spiritual care could improve the cancer amputated patients' well-being.

The Correlation of Spirituality and Implementation of Spiritual Care Among Nursing Student in Jakarta

Nurses play a role in providing nursing care which include spiritual care. Spiritual care can provide inner peace and bring new hope for patients who need it. Nursing students are the initiators who will later become nurses. This study aimed to identify the correlation between spirituality and implementation of spiritual care among nursing students in program profession.This study used a cross sectional design with a purposive sampling technique. The sample in this study involved 208 nursing student in profession programmed from 3 university in Jakarta. The instruments used in this study were the daily spiritual experience scale (DSES) and the nursing spiritual care therapeutics scale (NSCTS). The statistic analysis used pooled sample T test and Chi-square test. The number of respondents aged < 40 years was 175 (84.1%) students, not yet working 109 (52.4%) students, , Muslim 183 (88%) students, female 173 (83.2%) students, undergraduate programmed who from high school were 109 (52.4%), have never attended spiritual care training 180 (86,5%). There was a significant relationship between the number of stage in profession programmed and spirituality with the application of spiritual care (p<0.05).The results of the study show that the nursing student have good spirituality, but are still not good at implementing spiritual care. The recommendation of this research added material about spiritual care in their curriculum.
 Keywords: spirituality, spiritual care, nursing student

Spiritual Care pada Orang Dengan HIV/AIDS (ODHA) untuk Mencegah Persepsi Citra Diri Negatif

Introduction: Prevent the perception of negative self-image in people lived with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and increase positive self-image. The method used is by providing education through the Telenursing method. The final result achieved in this community service is to prevent the perception of negative self-image in PLWHA. Objective: Implementation of spiritual care for PLWHA to prevent the perception of negative self-image. Method: This community service uses an educational method that is carried out by telenursing. Researchers used observation sheets as a pre-implementation evaluation in the form of a scale of knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, moral views, beliefs, and attitudes. Telenursing is the use of technology as a method of providing long-distance health services so that patients and nurses do not need to meet face-to-face. This community service research is divided into 4 stages. Namely Environmental surveys and targets, Preparation of facilities and infrastructure, Implementation of community service education, and Evaluation. This activity was attended by 10 respondents under the auspices of the association of HIV/AIDS prevention activities in Ciamis Regency. Result: The results of spiritual care for PLWHA to prevent the perception of negative self-image as a form of implementing community service for 10 PLHAs in the Ciamis district show that it does not provide significant results because there are other inhibiting factors such as support and negative community stigma in the community. people living with HIV. Conclussion: Spiritual care has a positive impact on various parties, especially people with HIV/AIDS. Improved self-image is not only created from internal factors but must also be supported by various parties. Community service activities held regarding spiritual care for people with HIV/AIDS to prevent the perception of a negative self-image received a good response from PLWHA.

The level of spiritual care competence of Polish nurses and the psychometric properties of the spiritual care competence scale (SCCS).

BackgroundProviding effective spiritual nursing care requires development of professional competence which, when regularly evaluated, allows one to direct undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education in order to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes of nurses in the scope of spiritual care.AimThe aim of this study was to analyse the level of spiritual competence of professionally active nurses in Poland and, additionally, to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS).MethodsA cross-sectional study among Polish nurses (n = 343) was performed in accordance with the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology guidelines.ResultsAn exploratory factor analysis identified five factors with 27 items explaining a total variance of 64.75%. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the subscales ranged from 0.70 for ‘Attitude toward the patient’s spirituality’ to 0.92 for ‘Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care’. Nurses reported a high level of spiritual competence (104.39 points) with better results in ‘Attitude toward the patient’s spirituality’ and ‘Communication, personal support and patient counselling’ than in the ‘Assessment and implementation of spiritual care’, ‘Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care’, and ‘Referral, consultation and spiritual care’. Significant correlation was found between nurses’ age, job seniority and spiritual competence, and between religiosity and spiritual competence.ConclusionsThe study showed satisfactory psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, confirming its potential to measure the level of spiritual competence of nurses, both in education and research processes. SCCS-PL revealed five-factor structure with good internal consistency. The findings highlight the importance of providing professional education in respect of spiritual nursing care, especially in its practical dimension regarding skills development in which nurses obtained lower scores.

Spiritual Care Competence among Malaysian Staff Nurses

Background: Perceptions and levels of understanding of spiritual care vary among nurses, which may affect their competency to meet the patient’s spiritual needs. Therefore, determining nurses' perception of spiritual care is the first important step in addressing the spiritual needs of patients, and may also help nursing management in developing spiritual care education and training programs.Purpose: This study aimed to assess the competence of Malaysian nurses toward providing spiritual care and identify the relationship between nurses’ spiritual care competence and their sociodemographic factors. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design to assess nurses' competence in spiritual care by using a simple random sampling method which involved 271 staff nurses from a public hospital in Northeast of Peninsular Malaysia. Spiritual care competence scale in Bahasa Malaysia version was used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using descriptive (frequency, percent, mean, standard deviation) and inferential (Chi-square and Pearson’s correlation test) statistics.Results: This study showed that 69.7% of staff nurses had an average level of competence toward providing spiritual care for the patients (M=95.44, SD=4.34). The highest mean difference among the domains was personal support and patients counseling (MD=5.789), while the lowest mean difference was assessment and implementation of spiritual care (MD=1.258). Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between spiritual care competence and sociodemographic factors (gender, age, marital status, educational level, nurses' experience, race, religion, and previous participation in training spiritual care programs).Conclusion: The majority of nurses have an average level of competence toward providing spiritual care. There is no significant relationship between nurses’ spiritual care competence and sociodemographic factors.

Hospice palliative care nurses' perceptions of spiritual care and their spiritual care competence: A mixed-methods study.

To understand hospice palliative care nurses' (HPCNs) perceptions towards spiritual care and their competence to provide spiritual care. Previous research has shown that many nurses lack a clear understanding of the concept of spirituality and feel inadequately prepared to assess patients' spiritual needs. Studies on competence in spiritual care are mostly descriptive, and the evidence for improving it is limited. A mixed-methods research design was used. Quantitative data were collected from 282 nurses in forty hospice palliative care (HPC) institutions in South Korea and analysed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni test and multiple regression. Qualitative data collection involved two stages: first, an open-ended question posed to 282 nurses, and second, focus group interviews conducted with six HPC experts. Both qualitative data sets were analysed separately using content analysis. This study followed the GRAMMS guidelines. Of the six dimensions of spiritual care competence (SCC), the mean scores were highest in 'attitude towards the patient's spirituality' and 'communication', whereas the 'assessment and implementation of spiritual care' and 'professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care' had the lowest mean scores. Through content analysis, 4 themes regarding the meaning of spiritual care, 3 themes regarding requirements for spiritual care and 2 themes regarding preparedness for spiritual care were revealed. They perceived the needs of the understanding of spiritual care based on the attributes of spirituality, the education in systematic assessments and implementation for spiritual care with standardised terminology, and the opportunity to reflect on nurses' own spirituality. Practical SCC training for HPCNs and the subsequent development of clinical practice guidelines are of vital importance. The results of this study provide a useful resource to develop educational programmes for strengthening the SCC of nurses and the entire HPC team.

Clinical supervisors’ understanding of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing: A South African perspective (part 2)

The article provides findings of understanding of clinical supervisors (CSs) on spirituality and spiritual care in nursing practice. These participants who taught nursing skills to nursing students who were registered for R425 SANC Nursing Curriculum. Revealed uncertainties regarding their implementation of spiritual care in clinical nursing. They expressed concernes that despite South African Nursing Council’s espoused holistic approach to nursing, a gap still exist in SANC’s holistic philosophy. This view is supported and by the lack of guidelines from the SANC. According to the participants lack of guidelines indicates failure of SANC in embracing spiritual care as a vital component of “holistic nursing”.An exploratory interview-based qualitative design was used to explore understanding of spiritual care by CSs. The certificate no: 13/4/22 was granted by the University Higher Degrees Committee. Nine (n = 9) CSs were purposively selected to respond to one open-ended question, “what is your understanding of spiritual care in nursing”. Participants were included if a written consent was obtained, had facilitated clinical learning for two or more semesters. Data were analysed using Tesch.Emerged themes from in-depth interviews with the clinical supervisors include: (i) defining spiritual care; (ii) current status of spiritual care in teaching and learning; (iii) benefits of spiritual care; and (iv) need for spiritual care. Each theme is described below to show how it contributed to the objectives of the study.Spiritual care is needed not only to demostrate the nurses’ morality. But more importantly nurses are obliged to alleviate deep human suffering which are met possible through spiritual care on one hand. On the other hand they questioned “how holistic” is "holistic nursing care" without attending to the spiritual health of the patient or client.

Implementation of spiritual care in patients with diabetic foot ulcers: a literature review.

Lower extremity amputation is a complication of diabetic foot ulcers that can cause spiritual crisis. Integrating spiritual care into nursing practice is important to overcome this. However, studies articulating the role of nurses in spiritual care when caring for patients with diabetic foot ulcers is limited. This article aims to describe the importance of providing spiritual care for this group of patients. The interpretation of spiritual care with respect to the relationship between the patient and the family, and the role of the nurse are discussed. The findings offer a theoretical perspective on spiritual care that can be used to develop spiritual interventions, as well as prevent spiritual crises in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.

Spiritual competence in psychiatry and psychotherapy-Barriers and success factors

HintergrundEbenso wie die World Psychiatric Association (WPA) und andere nationale psychiatrische Fachgesellschaften hat auch die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Nervenheilkunde (DGPPN) ein Positionspapier zu Religiosität und Spiritualität (R/Sp) in Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie veröffentlicht, in dem sie Patientenzentrierung und spirituelle Kompetenz (SpK) der psychiatrischen Berufe fordert. Es ist bekannt, dass Kompetenzmangel das wichtigste Hindernis für die Implementierung von Spiritual Care (SpC) in die klinische Praxis darstellt.FragestellungZiel der vorliegenden Studie ist die praxisnahe Untersuchung der SpK in Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie. Wie schätzen psychiatrisch Tätige die SpK ihrer eigenen Berufsgruppe ein und welche Variablen beeinflussen dieses Urteil?Material und MethodenInsgesamt 391 psychiatrische Pflegekräfte, 75 Psychiater, 119 Therapeuten verschiedener Professionen und 62 andere (n = 647) aus Krankenhäusern in Deutschland und Österreich füllten den SpC Competency Questionnaire (SCCQ) aus.ErgebnissePflegekräfte, ältere und spirituell erfahrenere Personen schätzen die SpK der eigenen Berufsgruppe vergleichsweise höher ein und meinen seltener, diesbezüglich nicht zuständig zu sein. Pflegende nennen häufiger als andere Berufsgruppen das Fehlen geeigneter Räumlichkeiten als Hindernis für die Implementierung von SpC. Höhere Einschätzung der SpK der eigenen Berufsgruppe geht mit höheren Werten in den SCCQ-Faktoren „Selbsterfahrung und proaktive Öffnung“, „Team-Spirit“, „Wahrnehmungs‑/Dokumentationskompetenz“ einher.DiskussionDie Zuständigkeit der Gesundheitsberufe für SpC in Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie wird unter den deutschsprachigen psychiatrischen Berufsgruppen noch kontrovers diskutiert. Dies hängt mit mangelnder Kompetenz in diesem Feld zusammen.

Are the Nurses Competent to Give Spiritual Care?

Introduction: Spiritual care is an inseparable element of nursing. A descriptive study was conducted to assess the spiritual care competence of nurses working in the intensive care units. The objectives were to assess the spiritual care competence of nurses on six domains of spiritual care, namely assessment and implementation of spiritual care, attitude toward patient's spirituality, communication, personal support and patient counseling, referral, professionalization, and improving quality of spiritual care and to associate spiritual care competence with selected demographic variables. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted intensive care units of selected hospitals at Kollam. Fifty staff nurses were selected by purposive sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The findings revealed that 74% of subjects reported moderate competence, 22% less competence, and 4% have adequate competence. Conclusion: The study provides evidence to guide the nurse educators and policymakers on the need to focus on preparing nurses to develop spiritual nursing care competence. Nurses' competence in spiritual care gives a holistic perspective to patient care. A well-planned training program gives more clarity to the concept of spiritual care and nurses' role in various domains of spiritual care for patients. Training programs can be planned for nurses and students on spiritual care, policy guidelines on spiritual care can be developed and implemented, which may help the nurses to enable their clients to find meaning in their experience during hospitalization.

Persepsi Perawat Tentang Spiritual Care di Ruang Intensive Care Unit

Spiritual care merupakan hal yang penting bagi pasien. Satu – satunya sumber penyembuhan (healing) bagi pasien terminal adalah spiritualitas mereka. Namun dalam pelayanan keperawatan masih terfokus pada aspek fisik. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengeksplorasi persepsi perawat tentang spiritual care di ruang Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Rumah Sakit Medika Stannia Sungailiat.Jenis penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan fenomonologi. Informan 10 orang dengan teknik non purposive sampling. Tehnik pengumpulan data, wawancara dan observasi. Terdapat 5 tema persepsi perawat tentang spiritual care, yaitu pemahaman perawat tentang spiritual care, cara perawat mengidentifikasi kebutuhan spiritual pasien, pelaksanaan spiritual care, berbagai hambatan dalam pelaksanaan spiritual care, dan harapan terhadap spiritual care : advokasi dalam pembuatan kebijakan di rumah sakit tentang kewajiban perawat melaksanakan spiritual care, upaya bimbingan dalam peningkatan pengetahuan, serta evaluasi berkelanjutan dalam melaksanakan spiritual care di ruangan.

Validation of a Korean Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale: Focused on the Hospice and Palliative Care Setting.

This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of a scale to assess the competence of Korean nurses who provide spiritual care for patients with terminal illnesses. The reliability and validity were examined using Cronbach α, item analysis, and exploratory factor analysis. The participants were 248 hospice nurses working at 40 hospices and palliative hospitals in South Korea. The results showed that the reliability was high, as indicated by a Cronbach α of .942. The exploratory factor analysis revealed 6 dimensions (assessment and implementation of spiritual care, professionalization and improvement of the quality of spiritual care, personal support and patient counseling, referral to professionals, attitude toward the patient's spirituality, and communication) with 27 items. The 6 factors explained 68.20% of the variance in the Korean version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale. From the results, the Korean version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale may serve as an appropriate measure for provision of spiritual care for patients with terminal illness. In addition, it may be useful in assessing hospice and palliative nurses' ability for spiritual care.

Spirituality in the continuing education of healthcare professionals: An approach to palliative care.

A major barrier to the adoption of an approach that integrates spirituality into palliative care is the lack of preparation/education of healthcare professionals on the topic. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a continuing education activity for healthcare professionals addressing spirituality and spiritual care provision to patients and families within palliative care. We conducted an intervention study using a quantitative pre- and posttest design in a convenience sample of 52 healthcare professionals. Participants completed the Brazilian version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale before and after attending a four-hour continuing education activity. Significant differences were observed between pre- and postintervention scores in the following dimensions: assessment and implementation of spiritual care, professionalization and improving the quality of spiritual care, personal support, and patient counseling (p < 0.001), and referral (p = 0.003). The results of this study provide preliminary evidence of a positive effect of this educational intervention on the development of the competences needed by healthcare professionals to deliver a comprehensive approach centered on the patient/family, which includes attention to spirituality and spiritual care in the decision-making process.

The Effect of Spiritual Care on Perceived Stress and Mental Health Among the Elderlies Living in Nursing Home.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of spiritual care on the perceived stress and mental health of the elderlies living in nursing home in Isfahan. This is a semi-experimental study with pretest and posttest design with control group. Ninety eligible elderlies living in the nursing home were divided into intervention and control groups through census and random allocation. The interventional spiritual care was conducted for the intervention group for 90days. After conducting the spiritual care, the majority of the elderlies (62.22%) in the intervention group had a low perceived stress level and the majority of the subjects (64.44%) in the control group had a high perceived stress level. Therefore, after performing spiritual care, a significant difference was observed at the perceived stress level of the two groups (X2 = 3.22 and P = 0.001). The results of mental health level indicated that the mean score of the general health questionnaire was ranged between 10.95 and 27.2. After performing care, a significant difference was observed in mental health level of both groups, and 31.11% and 53.33% of the participants were suspected to general disorder in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Based on the results, there was a significant difference in the mental health level of both groups after the implementation of spiritual care (X2 = 6.56 and P = 0.001). Further, a significant negative correlation was found between the perceived stress and mental health (r = - 0.241 and P = 0.01). Considering the spiritual health as one of the health dimensions influencing the psychosocial variables of elderlies seems necessary. Policymakers and planners of health area contribute to the improvement of mental health level by using comprehensive care approach with an emphasis on the spiritual dimension of care for the elderly people.

Spirituality in Nursing: An Overview of Research Methods

Spirituality has been widely considered important for patients’ health and for healthcare practice and is related to connectedness, meaning in life, and transcendence. Research concerning spirituality is growing rapidly, and the implementation of spiritual care should be based on evidence. This literature review aims to describe the methods that have been used in nursing research focusing on spirituality. The electronic search on databases through EBSCOhost identified 2091 citations, and a total of 231 studies were included. The methods used in research on spirituality in nursing are mostly quantitative (52.4%), but some are qualitative (42.8%) and mixed (4.8%). Regarding the quantitative research, most studies are observational (90.9%), and these are mainly descriptive (82.7%) and correlational (17.3%). Most studies used a cross-sectional design (98.7%), and few used longitudinal design (1.3%). The qualitative research is descriptive (39.4%), phenomenological (26.3%), and grounded theory (14.1%). Research on spirituality in nursing is based on both main paradigms (quantitative and qualitative), but also on mixed methods. Studies have mainly been conducted using cross-sectional designs when compared to longitudinal designs. The latter seem to constitute a gap in nursing knowledge and evidence regarding the changes of spirituality over time, which is particularly important for nurses’ delivery of spiritual care.

Nurses' Perceptions of Competence in Providing Spiritual Care.

The study examined nurses' perception of competence in providing spiritual care. A descriptive correlational research design with a convenience sample was used. Participates completed a demographic questionnaire and the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, which has six domains: assessment and implementation of spiritual care, professionalization and improving the quality of spiritual care, personal support and patient counseling, referral to professionals, attitude toward the patient's spirituality, and communication. The domain of communication had the most favorable perception among participants and the domain of professionalization and improving the quality of spiritual care had the least favorable perception. It is important for nurses to have the opportunity to gain knowledge regarding this significant component of holistic care.

The Effect of Spiritual Care on Mental Health in Mothers of Children With Cancer.

This study measured the effect of spiritual care on mental health in mothers of children with cancer. The present quasi-experimental study was with one group pretest posttest design. The findings show that implementation of spiritual care in mothers of children with cancer can improve their mental health.

Students' voices on spiritual care at a Higher Education Institution in the Western Cape.

BackgroundNurses have a moral obligation to ensure holistic care of patients, inclusive of the spiritual dimension. However, there seems to be a void in the teaching and learning of spiritual care in nursing curricula. Despite the South African Nursing Council being in favour of holistic nursing, there are no measures in place to ensure implementation of spiritual care, hence its practice is not standardised in nursing education in South Africa. Currently, the undergraduate nursing curriculum does not provide clear direction on how spiritual care in nursing should be integrated and the reason for this is not clear. It appears that the lack of professional regulation, difficulties in definition and the personalised nature of spiritual practice are partly responsible for the practice being barely enforced and scarcely practised by students in clinical placements. The aim of the study was to develop a practice theory for teaching–learning of spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing programme.ObjectivesThe study objective was to describe and explore the students’ experiencs of teaching–learning of spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing programme.MethodsA qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design with purposive sampling was used. The sample consisted of undergraduate nursing students at a University in the Western Cape Province. Measures for trustworthiness were applied.ResultsThe findings indicated a need to provide support, a conducive learning environment and structure for teaching, learning and practice of spiritual care.ConclusionThere is a need for formal education regarding spiritual care in nursing.

Nurses opinions about patients’ spiritual needs

Introduction. The patient’s spiritual needs are an important part of providing hospital care. Health care providers often fail to take the patient’s spirituality into consideration. The patients’ religious needs are often ignored and omitted while preparing care plans. These issues should be looked at by both the members of therapeutic teams and religious ministers. The Polish law regulates allows patients to have access to religious care. Preparing nurses to assist in realizing is an important part of education preparing to care. Aim. The aim of the study was to elicit nurses’ opinions about the patients’ spiritual needs and the role of nurses in the implementation of spiritual care. Material and method. The study included 88 nurses working in health care sector in the province of Malopolska, currently studying at Higher Vocational School in Tarnow majoring in nursing through part-time first-cycle studies (bridging) and the second-cycle studies. The study was conducted in November 2013. Due to its specificity, it has not required obtaining any approval papers from the Bioethical Committee. The authors conducted the study using a diagnostic survey with a questionnaire of their own making. Results. A vast majority of the respondents (76.1%) believe that the spiritual needs of patients are often ignored by health care providers. Some 98.9% of students (participants in the study) stated that nurse should actively participate in identifying and meeting spiritual needs of patients. According some 80.7% of the participants, most employers do not gather any information regarding the patients’ worldview or religious needs. Conclusions. Studies have shown that: 1. Spiritual needs of patients are rarely included in care plans. 2. Nurses should participate in identifying and meeting spiritual needs of patients. 3. Health care institutions rarely collect any information about the worldview and spiritual needs of their patients.

The validity and reliability of an instrument to assess nursing competencies in spiritual care

This study contributes to the development of a valid and reliable instrument, the spiritual care competence scale, as an instrument to assess nurses' competencies in providing spiritual care. Measuring these competencies and their development is important and the construction of a reliable and valid instrument is recommended in the literature. Survey. The participants were students from Bachelor-level nursing schools in the Netherlands (n = 197) participating in a cross-sectional study. The items in the instrument were hypothesised from a competency profile regarding spiritual care. Construct validity was evaluated by factor analysis and internal consistency was estimated with Cronbach's alpha and the average inter-item correlation. In addition, the test-retest reliability of the instrument was determined at a two-week interval between baseline and follow-up (n = 109). The spiritual care competence scale comprises six spiritual-care-related nursing competencies. These domains were labelled: 1 assessment and implementation of spiritual care (Cronbach's alpha 0.82) 2 professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care (Cronbach's alpha 0.82) 3 personal support and patient counseling (Cronbach's alpha 0.81) 4 referral to professionals (Cronbach's alpha 0.79) 5 attitude towards the patient's spirituality (Cronbach's alpha 0.56) 6 communication (Cronbach's alpha 0.71). These subscales showed good homogeneity with average inter-item correlations >0.25 and a good test-retest reliability. This study conducted in a nursing-student population demonstrated valid and reliable scales for measuring spiritual care competencies. The psychometric quality of the instrument proved satisfactory. This study does have some methodological limitations that should be taken into account in any further development of the spiritual care competence scale. The spiritual care competence scale can be used to assess the areas in which nurses need to receive training in spiritual care and can be used to assess whether nurses have developed competencies in providing spiritual care.